Windows 2000 Deployment Guide: Part 1

In this, the first of a series of articles on the decisions and tasks required for deploying Windows 2000, author Dale Holmes lays out the series goals and sets the stage for the first step of his journey.

In this, the first of a series of articles on the decisions
and tasks required for deploying Windows 2000, author Dale Holmes lays out
the series goals and sets the stage for the first step of his journey.

Introduction

It's finally here…after many, many months of waiting, discussing, speculating,
arguing and then more waiting, Windows 2000 has finally reached production
and is currently shipping. Chances are, you've seen it and heard the hype;
the trade press has been dolling out Windows 2000 tidbits for the past year.
They've offered up little morsels of Windows 2000 flavor to whet your appetite
and excite you about the new functionality of Microsoft's latest operating
system. You've had a taste of Active Directory, and a little bite of Dynamic
DNS. Distributed File System, anyone? How about a little Kerberos or IPSec?
By now you've probably had your fill of Windows 2000 tidbits, and no doubt
you are quite excited about one of the new functions that Windows 2000 offers.
However, you’re left with one burning question in the end: How am I going
to deploy Windows 2000 in my existing environment?

I intend to address this question in these articles. Together we'll take
an in-depth look at Windows 2000 deployment. Over the next several weeks we'll
examine the issues you will need to consider in order to put together an effective
Windows 2000 deployment plan. We'll evaluate your existing environment and
prepare it to accept Windows 2000. We'll look at the hardware and software,
workstations, and servers. We'll examine the new features offered by Windows
2000, and the pitfalls surrounding their implementation. Finally, we'll consider
training and outsourcing.

The material will be presented in step-by-step fashion, and you will be asked
to perform tasks between articles before you can progress to the next step
in the process. Follow along with us for the next several weeks as we look
at deploying Windows 2000 across your enterprise. I hope you're looking as
forward to this journey as I am.

In the next article, we'll begin our Windows 2000 deployment guide by examining
all of the products in the Windows 2000 family. Your task for the interim
is to determine your current source for operating system software, and to
inquire about their pricing for the various Windows 2000 offerings. There
is no need to provide the salesperson with specifics of your environment;
simply gather their general pricing information for Windows 2000. For now,
consider it a fact-finding mission, not the start of an actual IT project.